Spectrally encoded endoscopy (“SEE”) is a miniature endoscopy technology that can conduct high-definition imaging through a sub-mm diameter probe. With SEE, broadband light is diffracted by a grating at the tip of the fiber, producing a dispersed spectrum on the sample. Light returned from the sample is detected using a spectrometer; and each resolvable wavelength corresponds to reflectance from a different point on the sample. Previously, SEE procedures have been demonstrated using a 350 μm diameter probe, which produced high-quality images in two- and three-dimensions. One of the technical challenges for fabricating SEE probes has been to make a sub-mm transmission grating with a high diffraction efficiency and to precisely assemble the miniature grating with other optical components in the probe.
Thus, there may be a need to improve the above-described fabrication of the SEE probes, and to overcome at least some of the deficiencies of the conventional devices.